Or baskets of plump, shiny garnet cherries, with satiny green stalks? Even without access to such delights, summer berry fruits are widely available and now is the time to enjoy them. Eat strawberries as they come, or piled in a pre-baked pie shell or on a sponge base. Frances shares multiple ways of serving up strawberries (Image: Frances Bissell) Strawberries are served in France with crème fraîche, or in red wine.
In America strawberry shortcake is a favourite dessert, but I do not think their cooked strawberry pies, crisps and cobblers are as successful, as the fruit collapses when cooked and the perfume lost. In Italy a ricotta-based tart is the perfect foil for the luscious fruit. Strawberry cheesecake and Eton Mess are two more versions of the fruit with a creamy partner.
Indeed, a bowl of cream, mascarpone or thick plain yoghurt, and one of light muscovado sugar are the perfect accompaniments for freshly picked, un-hulled strawberries; this makes a delightfully easy ending to a summer lunch or dinner. But if your strawberries need a little more assistance, I would simply slice them and pour on boiled, then cooled red wine, sweetened with sugar and spiced with orange zest and cinnamon. A summer pudding is a classic way to serve berries (Image: Frances Bissell) This is especially good with vanilla ice cream and meringues.
A grinding of black pepper and a sprinkling of sherry vinegar is the Spanish treatment for strawberries, while in Italy balsamic vinegar is used t.